Donie's daily Irish news BLOG

Michael Noonan to ask banks to preserve tapes for Oireachtas inquiry

    

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams expressed surprise that the Minister was writing to the banks tomorrow, given the passage of time since the banking collapse.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is to write to the banks tomorrow requesting them to preserve any tapes they have for the Government’s proposed banking inquiry, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

Mr Kenny said there was also information available in theDepartment of Finance and the Garda had taken copies of documents. “There is not a series of tape decks in the department similar to those contained in the banks,’’ he added.

The Taoiseach was replying in the Dail this afternoon to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who said the ongoing revelations from the Anglo Irish Bank tapes continued to anger and outrage citizens. He asked if there were similar tapes in the other banks.

Mr Adams expressed surprise that the Minister was writing to the banks tomorrow, given the passage of time since the banking collapse. He asked if there was one law for the well connected and the rich, a different law for citizens, and no law for some.

“I think that the Government’s handling of these matters has been absolutely dismal,’’ he added.

Mr Kenny said the Government had set in place an entirely new system of regulation and monitoring of the banks. He added that Mr Adams was wrong when he suggested the Government was only acting now.

“There is a legal requirement on the banks to retain those tapes for a period of time,’’ he added.

“The Minister’s letter is merely a reminder to them to live up to their responsibilities, in the sense of preserving those tapes to be available for public information purposes and for the banking inquiry to be set up under the parliamentary system.’’

Irish Family Doctors fury at Government’s plans to cut GP fees and eventually services

  

Family doctors label the move to cut GP fees as stupid and warn it will hit patient services

Minister Reilly has been asked to explain the move in the Dail

Furious GPs have blasted “stupid and mean-spirited” Government plans to slash their fees by 7.5% warning it will hit patient services.

Health Minister Dr James Reilly is to introduce emergency new legislation to cut the cash paid to doctors and pharmacists in a bid to save up to e70 million.

But, the Irish Medical Organisation lashed out at the move claiming this will tip services over the edge.

Chairman of the IMO, Dr Ray Walley said: “The Minister knows full well that GP services are at crisis point. He must explain the basis for these cuts because, for the life of me, I can’t understand his thinking.

“The key to more efficient health services is a more productive GP network.

“But rather than resourcing GP services properly to do more work, the Government is forcing through cuts which will force GPs to reduce the amount of work they can do.”

The Department of Health said this move was “carefully considered” and it is “fair and proportionate”.

A spokesman for Minister Reilly said this wouldn’t be a long drawn-out process and moves would be made in the near future.

He said: “The reductions have been decided after a consultation process and considerable analysis by the department in order to make certain that the reductions are proportionate.”

Dr Walley said the move was “not only mean-spirited but stupid”.

He added: “This will lead, in turn, to further pressure on hospitals around the country.

“Unfortunately by the time the Government sees the damage it has caused, it may be too late for many patients.”

Junior Health Minister Alex White said the move was inevitable as the health budget continues to be burst.

He said: “It is regrettable that any cuts have to be made and we say that about public sector pay as well, we say that about pay right across the board.

“But it’s just inevitable that the kinds of cuts that we’ve seen across the public sector and across the economy are reflected in a proportionate way in relation to professional fees and that seems to me to be what’s happening here.”

Mr White said he understood the move would be unpopular but he hoped the medical profession would co-operate with the move.

He said: “I think they will cooperate, I’ve had many conversations with doctors and I’ve discussed it with the IMO.

“I think we will have cooperation in the future in relation for example, to universal GP care.

“I’d be confident that we’d have very good negotiations on a new contract in the coming months so I would look forward in a positive way and in an optimistic way to the future.”

The cuts are aimed at bringing GPs’ and pharmacists’ payments into line with the changes under the Haddington Road Agreement, which does not cover these health professionals.

Up to half of Irish patients fail to take their medication as prescribed

        
UP TO 50 PER CENT OF PATIENTS WITH SERIOUS LONG-TERM MEDICAL CONDITIONS DO NOT TAKE THEIR MEDICATION OR TAKE IT INCORRECTLY, A ROUND TABLE EVENT ON MEDICATION COMPLIANCE AND ADHERENCE IN DUBLIN HEARD LAST WEEK.

European research has estimated that 20-30 per cent of patients do not adhere to medication regimens that are curative or relieve symptoms, while 30-40 per cent fail to follow regimens designed to prevent health problems, with results for long-term medication worse at about 50 per cent compliance.

Complex issue
The reasons for poor medication adherence are complex, a number of speakers told the meeting, and include cost, poor communication and education about the medication from healthcare workers, as well as fear about side effects and lack of awareness about the risks to health if the medication is not taken.

Prof Frank Doyle, a lecturer in psychology in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, said routine, social support and emotional factors all play key roles in medication compliance, with, for example, depressed patients less likely to take their medications.

Dr Colm Galligan, medical director of MSD Ireland, said one in four Irish patients has poor levels of health literacy, which is directly linked to health outcomes, while Eibhlin Mulroe, the chief executive of Irish Platform for Patients’ Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI), said health numeracy could also be an issue, with some patients not understanding their medication needs to be taken a certain number of times per day and at set times.

Dr Roisín Adams, the deputy head of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, noted that medication compliance and adherence had a key impact on treatment cost-effectiveness and supported calls for more research on why patients do not take their medication.

She quoted a number of different studies highlighting poor long-term treatment adherence in breast cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes medication, causing poor outcomes and more costs to the health system.

Prof Ken McDonald, consultant cardiologist, St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, said patients were more likely to take their medication after an acute event, such as a heart attack, but as time goes by are less dedicated to taking their “life-saving medications”.

Cost to State
Chief operations officer of the HSE Laverne McGuinness said the issue was one that it was keen to address, given the “huge” cost of the State’s drugs’ bill at about €2 billion per year.

The roundtable was hosted by IPPOSI and was addressed by Department of Health secretary General Dr Ambrose McLoughlin who said new prescribing guidance would be issued to doctors later this year. He also confirmed the long-awaited Health Information Bill would be published by the end of October.

Russian satellite rocket launch crashes live on television

   

A Russian rocket carrying three navigation satellites burst into flames and crashed on live TV moments after its launch, dealing another blow to the nation’s space prestige.

The failure follows a long string of launch mishaps that could tarnish Russia’s reputation and eventually cost it a share in the lucrative satellite launch market. It also hurt one of the Kremlin’s pet projects, the GLONASS satellite navigation system intended to serve as a Russian equivalent of the West’s GPS system.

The Proton-M booster suffered an emergency shutdown of its engines 17 seconds into the flight and crashed some over a mile from the launch pad on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Russian Space Agency said.

The explosion left a 200-yard)crater and sent plumes of toxic rocket fuel into the air, prompting the city of Baikonur 50 miles away to order residents to close windows and stay home for several hours.

The ban was lifted a few hours later after the authorities said that most of the rocket fuel appeared to have burned in the crash and rain quickly dispelled the poisonous cloud.

Russia reported no casualties or damage, and Kazakhstan’s space agency said no toxic components were spotted in air or soil in the area. However, several Kazakh environmental activists demanded an end to Russian launches from the Soviet-built cosmodrome.

Russia pays Kazakhstan 115 million dollars a year for Baikonur under a deal that runs until 2050. Russia also spends 160 million dollars per year operating the complex, which is used for all its manned launches and most commercial satellite launches.

The ex-Soviet neighbours have argued over the cosmodrome in the past. Kazakhstan once suspended Russian launches after a failed Proton launch that spilled toxic fuel, and recently sought to put limits on the number of the heavylift Russian rockets.

The Proton booster that has a payload of up to 20 metric tons has been the main cash cow of the Russian space programme, used for putting heavy communications satellites into high orbits. It also has served as the launch vehicle for GLONASS navigation satellites. Russia has boasted about the system but has struggled to make it fully operational due to a short lifespan of its satellites and launch failures.

In December 2010, a Proton failure led to the loss of three GLONASS-M navigation satellites. An investigation revealed that the mishap was caused by extra fuel loaded into the booster because of human error. In August 2011, a state-of-the art telecommunications satellite was lost when a Proton upper stage suffered a malfunction. An official probe concluded that the failure was caused by an error in calculations. Another failed Proton launch in August 2012 led to the loss of two communications satellites.The Right and Wrong Ways to Lose Weight Walking

Walking is one the most preferred ways to lose weight and stay in shape. It’s natural, it’s free, and it’s effective.

Some people try to enhance their walking workouts with exercise accessories and following certain guidelines. There are ways to boost your walking workouts so that you burn more calories, but there are definitely tricks you shouldn’t try.

Learn safe methods to get the most of your workouts with this list of dos and don’ts.

Don’t use dumbbells

Back in the 80s everyone had crazy clothes and insane ideas about exercise. A common thing to see in an aerobics class or on the streets were people swinging dumbbells around or wearing ankle weights in hopes to burn more calories. It didn’t matter how uncomfortable or silly they looked, uncomfortable and silly were the status quo in the 80s. Music and movies from the 80s thankfully survived the test of time, but unfortunately so did some exercise ideas.

Research shows that walking with one-pound dumbbells in your hands does nothing for the overall calories burned in a workout. A study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness in 2002 found that women swinging around three-pound dumbbells and 1.5-pound ankle weights during an aerobic workout burned no more calories than the women doing the same workout without the extras. You might think that the solution is to hold heavier weights while engaging in cardio. Although you may see a miniscule increase in overall calories used, the potential damage to your shoulders and elbows from the strain of holding 5-pound or heavier weights makes it not worth it. Your knees and hips are strained when you walk with ankle weights.

Bottom line: Ditch the dumbbells during cardio

Do use walking poles

Although hand weights are a bad idea, holding walking poles does make walking more effective for burning calories. Walking poles work your upper body, improve your balance, and cause you to burn between 20 and 45 percent more calories.

Bottom line: Walking poles look a little silly, but the short time you use them during workouts will improve how you look the rest of the time.

Do ditch the sidewalk and hit the trails

Free yourself from the concrete jungle and hit the trails, hiking trails that is. Walking on a trail challenges your balance, which ups your overall calories by up to 82 percent.

Bottom line: Trail walking burns almost double the amount of calories as walking on pavement.

Don’t walk slowly thinking you’ll burn more fat

People still believe that walking slower leads to fat loss because the body uses more calories from fat when at rest. The problem is that pounds of fat are made up of calories, so losing weight is really a numbers game. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose. Therefore, pick up the pace. Brisk walking at 3 to 4 mph gets you into a moderate intensity workout zone, which is the minimum for a decent workout not only to lose weight but to increase cardiovascular fitness. Walking at 4.7 mph burns as many calories as jogging.

Bottom line: Walking as quickly as you can gets you to your weight loss goal faster than strolling at a pleasant pace.

Sarka-Jonae Miller is a personal trainer, massage therapist, novelist, and blogger. Get more health and wellness

Human Nature and Instincts Make Us Psychologically Green

   

‘Green with Envy’ and ‘Green with Greed’ have proven to be losing strategies for individuals and our country alike.  Today, though, there is a new ‘Psychological Green’ that brings with it optimism and productivity.

Dr. Hendrie Weisinger, a leading psychologist and the author of The Genius of Instinct: Reclaim Mother Nature’s Tools for Enhancing Your Health, Happiness, Family, and Work, says, “Today, being psychologically green means tuning into your instincts, getting back to basics, and back to our human nature.  Whereas physical green is analogous to protecting our planet, psychological green is about protecting and honoring our human nature.”

Dr. Weisinger says, “Take a look at the plights we have now and you will see for that they are a result of going against our human nature, from being ‘instinctually disconnected.’  No wonder we are often so unhappy and unfulfilled.  No wonder we sometimes get into the wrong relationships, take the wrong jobs, and make the wrong choices.

“At the same time, take a look at the individuals, families, organizations, and countries that are thriving, and you will conclude that they are doing nothing more than staying in synch with their human nature, that is why they are growing. It is our instinctual tools that allow us to thrive and to solve the everyday problems that we encounter.  Indeed, today psychological green is true to the color of nature-green for growth.”

What can we do to become “psychologically green? How do we get back in touch with our human nature? The answer lies in using the genius of your instincts.  Here are six tips to get you started:

Listen to Your Emotions. They are the voice of your instincts.  Too many times, we rely on the opinions and recommendations of others to make our choice.  Friends tell you, “He is perfect for you.”  Parents and counselors tell the high school graduate, “This is the school for me.”  We follow the advice, despite the nagging feeling that tells us, something isn’t right.  Listening to your emotions and feelings is the beginning for getting connected to your instinctual tunes.

Allow Yourself to Feel Vulnerable.  You are hardwired to care-solicit—ask others for help.  It is Mother Nature’s instinctual tool that help you protect your vulnerabilities.  Yet, most people deny their vulnerabilities and as result, become disconnected from their care-soliciting instinct.  Why does this happen? One reason is that feeling vulnerable is uncomfortable (as it should be since it communicates we are at risk.)

Another reason is the conventional pop psychology message that successful individuals solve their own problems, the emotionally healthy too.  Thus, we seldom ask for help when we really need it-whether it is asking our partner for help around the house or in managing finances.  Being comfortable with feeling vulnerable will allow you to take advantage of your care-soliciting instincts.

Develop Others. Can anyone deny the world would be better place if we all became more touched by our care-giving instincts, the evolutionary function being to develop the future. Fact is, Presidents have written books on the importance of care-giving, but Mother Nature said it first.  In fact, both males and females are hardwired to be maternal and paternal-it is in your genes.  Early parents who were good care-givers increased the survival chances of their off spring.

There are all sorts of reasons that inhibit our care-giving instincts, ranging from “it’s an effort,” to withholding love because of anger-animals never do this. To get to your care-giving nature: at work, focus on developing others; at home, prioritize your children; with your partner, tune in to their physical and mental health.  Also, do things for your community.  All these activities will be a catalyst to get your care giving instincts going.

Look Your Personal Best. Silverback gorillas spend hours polishing their coats and picking fleas off themselves and each other.  The more attractive they are to each other, the greater the chance of mating and perpetuation of their species.  You are hardwired to beautify-to make yourself attractive for the purpose of making yourself desirable to others.  If you are not, say goodbye to your line of genes.

You’d be amazed how many people are surprised they didn’t get the job, even though they look like slobs, and how many executives are clueless to their abrasive demeanor that makes them unattractive to those above them and those under them.  To begin to reconnect with your attractive instincts, take a lesson from the silverbacks-look your personal best.

Few of us are movie star looking, but we can also do the simple things such as tucking in our shirt, polishing our shoes, combing our hair.  Then, so that you can become a more desirable mate, a parent your children come to in times of need, and a more successful employee, develop your sense of humor, become a better listener, and be supportive to others, all actions of attractive instincts that will make you more desirable to others.

Commit to Cooperate.  The fact is, we are all hard wired to cooperate—not to compete.  Remember, the first atom could not make it by itself so it coagulated with others and ever since, it has been a team game.  Get in touch with your cooperative nature-it brings out the best in you and others.  Start by making the commitment to cooperate, especially when others aren’t.

Be like lions, who don’t punish or exclude the “laggards” who don’t do their share, but rather continue their own efforts to make the pride stronger.  Tit for Tat is a losing strategy, and one that is hard to break—it ruins relationships.  Teach your kids that they can’t be lucky every day but they can be nice every day, and that nice people do finish first.  Discourage sibling rivalry and create sibling support.

Become a Curious George/Georgette.  You are hardwired to investigate and explore your environment-it increases the likelihood of encountering objects-be it a person, a book, or food-that can enhance your existence.  That is the evolutionary function of your curiosity instinct.  Your curiosity instinct accelerates your learning so it is good that we have a Green President who has made curiosity one of his Administration’s core values.

Unfortunately, parents stifle the curiosity of their children every day by ignoring or failing to encourage their interests, usually because it does not concur with the parents’ interest.  Countless couples stay stuck in their comfort zone by choosing their favorite restaurant every time out, rather than taking a chance on a new spot, and our schools have lost their edge by failing to ignite the curiosity of students, especially in science and math.

Ask yourself-when was the last time you developed a new interest-if not, you’re probably a bore.  Get back to your curious nature if you want to stay ahead of the pack.   Begin to Alpha up—increase your energy level, a prerequisite for curios actions like going for a walk in new area of town. Mentally stimulate your curiosity by asking yourself questions you don’t know until you are motivated to find out.  Go to a new restaurant and order a novel dish, all for the sake of jump starting your dormant curiosity instinct.

Follow these tips and the next time you are turning green, you won’t be envious or greedy.  You will be growing.